JagBytes

Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Denis Jimenez Junior George Hill goes for a shot during the Jags win over UMass. Hill was named Summit League Player of the week for the week ending Dec. 2.

Media Credit: Denis Jimenez Forward Jon Avery dunks the ball during the Jags game against UMass Dec. 1.

Media Credit: Denis Jimenez Fans rush the court after the Jaguars 89-77 victory over UMass.

The IUPUI Jaguars got off to a slow start against the University of Massachusetts, but pulled out an exiting 89-77 victory Saturday night in the Jungle.

IUPUI (5-2) quickly found themselves down 8-2 because of a combination of missed shots and costly turnovers only 2:50 into the first half. The Jaguars slowly crawled back into the game and were able to tie it at 17-17 with 12:26 left.

UMass (5-2) never trailed in the first half and hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the final two minutes to take a 43-32 lead at halftime.

"We came in the locker room at halftime saying 'we got to find ourselves and we got to play with emotion,'" said junior guard George Hill. "That's how we are going to beat a big team like that, we got to get our fans involved in it and we got to get involved in it and that's what we did."

The Jaguars were able to tie the game 48-48 with a 16-5 run that lasted nearly four minutes into the second half. IUPUI took the lead for good with a three-pointer from George Hill with 7:30 left in the game.

"We came out of the first media timeout thinking 'if we outscore them in the first four minutes then we have a chance to win the game,'" said Head Coach Ron Hunter.

Hill had a game-high 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He took the game into his own hands in the second half, scoring 26 of the 30 points. Hill shot four for five from 3-point range and hit 10 of 11 free-throws for the game.

"If we were going to win this game they were going to need to feed off my energy," Hill said. "So I just tried to bring the intensity in the second half."

To complement the play of Hill, sophomore forward Jon Avery scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The crowd erupted at his slam-dunk with 1:45 remaining in the game, a shot that fired up his teammates and teammates and proved to be the exclamation point of the game.

"Jon Avery has been great," Hunter said. "He can handle the basketball, he was really on that glass and he played with emotion."

The victory against UMass was one of the biggest victories in recent years for IUPUI.

"This is really more about our institution," Hunter said. "We don't get games like this and this is a great win.

"Our one word is validation. It's time for us to validate our program and tonight we validated our program."

IUPUI's next game is Saturday, Dec. 12 against Western Illinois at 8 p.m.

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